Chapter 8

Yuri motioned for her to sit and he waited until she sat down to again sit, behind his desk. Folding his fingers into a steeple, he rested them against his lips and watched as she simply stared at him. “Do you know who I am?”

Raven still looked alert as she answered, “You are Yuri Anatoly.”

Yuri nodded. “I know your first name but not your last name. I could look it up of course, but I’d rather you just told me.”

Raven looked away and the action told Yuri something important. When she looked back at him, he could see the blankness in her eyes. “My name is Raven Casseni.”

He knew she was lying the moment she said the words but he let it pass. He leaned forward and pushed the photo of her brother toward her. “I’m told you know this young man.” 

Raven took the photo and gazed at it for a long moment before raising her gaze to her boss. “I might. Why?” Her eyes met his in a steady gaze.

For once in his life, it was Yuri who looked away first. His eyes dropped to the photo and he asked, “Who is this young man?”

“Why? What did he do?” she repeated her earlier question without answering his.

“I would like to ask him some questions.”

“What sort of questions?”

Yuri stared at her for a moment. Instead of answering her he asked, “Who is he?”

“He’s just a kid, no one important to you,” Raven argued.

Yuri watched her for a moment then said, “Oh, but he is. I have a feeling he’s going to become very important to me.”

“Why would you think that?” Raven asked, her voice hesitant.

“Because you are trying to hide him from me and I don’t like that. Blin,” he swore in Russian. “If he's not important, you wouldn’t protect him so well.”

“He didn’t do anything to hurt you or anyone else.”

“Then you won’t mind if I speak to him.” Yuri pushed a small notebook toward her. “Write down your address and I’ll have him brought here for questioning. No one else needs to know.”

Raven shook her head. “I’m sorry but I won’t do that.”

Yuri sighed. “Fine then, I’ll just get your address from your employment files.”

Raven scoffed. “Good luck with that,” she mumbled under her breath as she got to her feet. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to work.”

“You aren’t going anywhere.” Yuri motioned for her to sit back down.

“You can’t hold me here,” she countered.

Yuri barked out a laugh. “You would be surprised at what I can and cannot do.” Getting to his feet, he nodded at Stephanou. “My man will stay with you until you are ready to cooperate with us.”

Raven surged to her feet. “You can’t keep me here.”

“Then tell me what I want to know!” Yuri bellowed as he stepped closer to her. “Who is he and where can I find him?” His huge hands tightened into fists and his chest expanded.

Raven couldn’t help herself, the fear was so ingrained in her, she dropped to her knees and covered her head with her hands almost as a survival reflex.

Yuri halted and stared down at her, stunned by her reaction. His jaw tightened as he squatted down next to her. Reaching out, he grasped her shoulders and helped her to her feet. “I’m not going to hurt you, milaya devochka.” Sweetness. His voice fell low and the rage of a few minutes earlier disappeared.

Raven trembled. She hadn’t had a reaction like this in years. Being a small woman, she was used to men being bigger than she was. Yuri had the bulk and when he yelled, he did frighten her. The fear she felt was nothing more than a flashback to the time in her life when she was with Carlos Lopez. Tears glinted in her eyes but she wouldn’t look at him. “I’m sorry.”

“I realize you don’t know me that well but I would never harm a woman or an innocent,” Yuri told her. “To raise a hand in anger against a woman or child should never be tolerated. Any man that does that is not really a man but instead a coward.”

“You’re right I don’t know you.” She sat back down in her chair. “Nor do I wish to. Please let me go. You have no right to hold me here.”

“Oh, but I do,” Yuri said as he brushed his fingers down along her cheek. When he saw her flinch, his jaw tightened but he didn’t say anything. He stood and said, “Stephanou will be just outside the door until I come back. Please don’t try to leave this room. I’ll only be gone a few minutes.”

Raven watched as both men left the room. When the door closed behind them, she heard the click of the lock and one set of footsteps walking away. She knew she didn’t have a lot of time, so she began looking for a way out of the room.

When she didn’t see any easy exit, she sat back down. With her mind racing, she jumped back up to pace the room again. She knew she couldn’t stay here for long. She had to escape and warn Nicky. She also knew they would both have to leave town and start over somewhere new. The only question was where? Where would they be safe from the Russian Bratva?

Yuri told her he would never physically hurt her but she knew firsthand, men could lie. Would he be so nice even after he found out her secrets? What about Nicky? Would he beat up her brother when he finally got his hands on the boy who robbed him? Would Nicky even survive a beating from a man like Yuri?